In Ontario, May is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month: a month dedicated to raising awareness of issues related to sexual violence and promoting ways to stop sexual violence. 1 out of 3 Canadian women experience some form of sexual violence in the life time. You can find more stats on sexual violence here: http://www.women.gov.on.ca/owd/docs/sexual_violence.pdf.

In March 2011, the Ontario Women’s Directorate started a campaign to end sexual violence, called Changing Attitudes, Changing Lives: Ontario’s Sexual Violence Action Plan. Part of the plan included the recent “Draw the line Campaign,” which encourages bystanders and the greater community at large to take responsibility in ending sexual violence. It encourages people not to just “go along with it”, but to intervene and prevent it from happening. This prevention strategy focuses not only on preventing sexual assault, but also on stopping sexist jokes and challenging rape culture, which refers to societal attitudes about gender that are normalized (such as victim blaming, denial and sexual objectification).

This strategy marks a shift away from victim blaming prevention strategies. Most women can recall being told at some point in their life how they can protect themselves from rape. These strategies included: watching your drink, don’t wear certain clothes; don’t walk home alone at night and many more. These strategies blamed women for when sexual assault happens and made invisible the people who perpetuate sexual assault, predominantly men. Women were told not to get raped, but no one was telling men not to rape. The recent sexual assault prevention strategies seem to be a shift in the right direction.

However, there is still more that needs to be done to challenge systems and laws that put women at risk of sexual violence. It has been recently reported that a sex worker was held captive and sexually assaulted for five days within a man’s home at Dundas Street East and Jones Avenue. Police believe that the man had probably done something like this before. Given the stigma against sex workers, treatment of sex workers by police and the criminalization of sex work, it is unlikely any sex worker would have reported sexual assaults to the police. Bill C-36 also came into effect, which criminalizes aspects of sex work (such as criminalizing clients who purchase sex work, retain material benefit from sale of sexual services and communicating for the purpose of selling sex near schools, playgrounds and daycare). Bill C-36 pushes sex work further underground and puts sex workers’ safety at risk and further marginalizes street-based sex workers. Nellie’s continues to support sex workers, challenge bill C-36 and call for the decriminalization of sex work!

Actions you can take to end sexual violence:

1. Challenge Rape Culture and check out campaigns, such as draw the line http://www.draw-the-line.ca/
2. Challenge laws, such as Bill C-36, that put women’s safety at work (more info found can be found at: http://maggiestoronto.ca/ and http://baddatecoalition.ca/ )
3. Support Nellie’s and other local women’s organizations that support women who experience sexual violence and other gender-based violence